Updates from Culture & Events City of Nanaimo // WINTER 2026 | Call for Performers - Concerts in the Park The annual Concerts in the Park series is returning in 2026, and the Parks, Recreation and Culture department is on the lookout for local performers to participate. Concerts will happen from May to August across various locations in Nanaimo, bringing parks and open spaces to life and showcasing a range of musical genres. Applications will be accepted from Friday, January 2 until Sunday, February 8 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. For more information on the Concerts in the Parks series and to apply, visit the City's website: MORE INFO | | Employment Opportunity: Venue Technician and Site Liaison (Offsite Contractor) Location: Old Victoria Arts Centre (OV Arts Centre), 25 Victoria Road
Hours: $30/hour, maximum 15 hours per week*
Apply To: The Nanaimo Performing Arts Guild c/o cultureandevents@nanaimo.ca DEADLINE: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. For more information or to apply, visit the City's website: MORE INFO | | Join the Art in Public Spaces Working Group The City of Nanaimo seeks applications for membership on its Art in Public Spaces Working Group, which consists of individuals who serve as knowledgeable volunteers, helping to advance the City’s public art program. Applicants will be considered for their demonstrated knowledge and experience in the expanded field of public art and place-making. Members of the Art in Public Spaces Working Group will serve on a volunteer basis for a term of 24 months. DEADLINE: Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. For more information or to apply, visit the City's website: MORE INFO | | Introducing Jennavieve Strub
2026-2028 Youth Poet Laureate | An emerging voice in Nanaimo’s literary community, Jennavieve Strub has been appointed the City of Nanaimo’s Youth Poet Laureate for a two-year term (2026 - 2028). Born and raised in Nanaimo, Jennavieve is currently in her fourth year at Vancouver Island University (VIU). Her interdisciplinary background informs her writing practice, which explores themes of identity, belonging, grief, empathy, and growth. Her work reflects the lived experiences of youth and young adults, and her poetry has been recognized through multiple local and regional awards and publications. As Youth Poet Laureate, Jennavieve envisions poetry as a living, everyday practice embedded in community life. Her proposed initiatives include youth poetry clubs, accessible poetry nights in underage venues, intergenerational writing exchanges, and collaborative projects that blend poetry with visual art, performance, and popular culture. Through these initiatives, she aims to create welcoming spaces for youth who may not yet see themselves as writers, particularly those who have felt unheard or marginalized. LEARN MORE | | Poetry in the Harbour: A Curated Community Reading Wednesday, February 4 | 7pm | FREE
Piper's Lagoon Lobby, Vancouver Island Conference Centre (Enter at 80 Commercial St.) Join Neil Surkan, Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, for a curated evening of poetry by community poets! Poetry in the Harbour featuring Poet, Junie Desil Wednesday, March 11 | 7pm | FREE
Piper's Lagoon Lobby, Vancouver Island Conference Centre (Enter at 80 Commercial St.) Join Poet Laureate, Neil Surkan, and special guests for an evening of poetry. March's event features poet, Junie Desil. MORE INFO | | Announcing 2026 Temporary Public Art | Two innovative and community-focused projects have been selected for the City of Nanaimo’s 2026 Temporary Public Art Program. The selected projects, Forest Flowers by Eliza Gardiner and Isaiah Kingdon, and Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging by Twyla Exner, will transform public space through vibrant sculptural forms, participatory processes, and connections to Nanaimo’s natural and cultural landscape. | Forest Flowers by Eliza Gardiner and Isaiah Kingdon Forest Flowers, a collaborative project by Nanaimo-based artist and arts educator Eliza Gardiner, and emerging artist and designer Isaiah Kingdon, will feature a sculptural cluster of three oversized, vividly coloured flower forms installed in a neighbourhood park. Inspired by the Crown Brodiaea, a rare, regionally significant wildflower native to the Harewood Plains, the installation will introduce an unexpected burst of colour into the surrounding greenery. Inspired by the quiet beauty of local meadows and forests, the sculptural flowers will appear to grow organically from the earth, casting tinted light onto the ground below and creating a playful and uplifting experience for park visitors. An accompanying plant identification plaque will provide educational context, encouraging viewers to learn about local flora and deepen their connection to Nanaimo’s natural environment. Forest Flowers will celebrate shared public space, local ecology, and the joy of encountering art where it is least expected. | Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging by Twyla Exner In Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging, artist Twyla Exner proposes a participatory sculptural installation inspired by the humble barnacle, an often-overlooked yet iconic feature of coastal ecosystems. Drawing on Nanaimo’s waterfront identity, the project will invite community members to take part in hands-on workshops to sculpt their own barnacle forms, which will later be cast in durable materials and collectively affixed in a location along the city’s waterfront. The resulting installation will form a dense cluster of larger-than-life barnacles, each carrying the unique imprint of its maker while contributing to a shared visual ecosystem. The work explores themes of belonging, attachment to place, and the ways individuals leave traces on their surroundings. By blending themes of nature with collaborative making, Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging will create a living archive of community participation - one that is playful, tactile, and deeply connected to Nanaimo’s coastal character. MORE INFO - TEMPORARY PUBLIC ART | Announcing the 2026-2028 Urban Design Roster | We are pleased to announce the artists and designers selected for the 2026–2028 Urban Design Roster, a key component of the City’s public art program that supports the thoughtful integration of art, design and placemaking into civic infrastructure and public spaces. Roster artists may be engaged on projects such as murals on civic buildings, artistic surface treatments for play areas and splash pads, creative enhancements to streetscapes, and the design treatment of utility and traffic kiosks. By embedding artists early and often in civic projects, the Urban Design Roster supports the creation of welcoming, inclusive and visually engaging public spaces, while also providing meaningful professional opportunities for artists and designers to contribute to the city’s evolving urban environment. | Artists and designers appointed to the Urban Design Roster include: | | Urban Design Roster Highlights | Photo by Sean Fenzl Photography @fenzlstudio A new ice-resurfacer design by Snuneymuxw artist, Noel Brown was unveiled in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. | A new public art installation designed by local artist Amy Pye, features a series of black-and-white projected artworks illuminating Commercial Street. Titled “Sensing Nanaimo”, the installation features ten circular light-projected designs that celebrate Nanaimo through an expanded lens of human sensation, moving beyond the traditional five senses to embrace ten: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, balance, movement, temperature, direction, and intuition. | Upcoming Art Classes - Register Now! | | | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 11:30am-2pm
$39 | Course #152132 Discover the natural colors around you by creating plant-based inks. In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to extract pigments from common plants and use them to paint simple, expressive art. No experience needed - just curiosity and a love for nature! | | | |
Wednesday, Feb. 25 | 6:30-8:30pm
$45 | Course #152134
Learn to create beautiful art and decor using foraged plants in this hands-on workshop. Explore natural materials to make unique pieces that bring the outdoors into your home. | | | Contact Us
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territory of the Snuneymuxw people | Follow us on Instagram @prc_nanaimo! Stay updated on the work of the Culture & Events team, and see how we’re building community through arts & culture by amplifying & championing local creativity #LoveArtsNanaimo FOLLOW US! | | | | |
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